Iranians Bid Farewell to Ali Landi, the National Hero

On social media these days, what we see a lot are the images of Ali Landi, a self-sacrificing Iranian teen who gave his life to save the lives of two neighbours from fire and whose memory will remain in the minds of Iranians.

Millions of Iranians both inside the country and abroad have, on social media networks, appreciated the sacrifice that he made and have called him a national hero.

“He is only 15 years old! He went through the fire to save two women. He has suffered 90% injuries and he says he doesn’t regret what he has done. He is a real man,” wrote a compatriot in a tweet.

“The story of the bravery and sacrifice of Ali Landi, a teen from Izeh, should be published at the beginning of all school texbooks,” read another tweet.

“How simply his childhood world went down in history as one of a great man,” said another Iranian in a tweet.

Ali Larni, a 9th-grader from the town of Izeh in southern Khuzestan province, died in hospital with severe burns on September 24, 2021.

Ali was visiting her aunt at her place as a guest on October 10, 2021 when, at 6:00 pm, he heard screams from the adjacent apartment block.

Ali immediately went to the neighbour’s house where he saw a middle-aged woman and her mother were caught in a blaze caused by a gas cylinder which had burst into flames.

Ali took the cylinder to take it away from the two women.

He was throwing it away when the liquid gas leaking from the cylinder poured on him and caught fire.

He was taken to a hospital in Isfahan with 90-degree burns, but succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

The governor, mayor and Friday prayers leader of Isfahan as well as the Ahwaz mayor and a host of artists were among those who visited Ali while he was in hospital.

A funeral procession was held for the national hero on Saturday, September 25.

He was then taken to his final resting place in his hometown, Izeh.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Leader has expressed condolences to Ali Larni’s family.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s office on Saturday contacted Larni’s bereaved family and conveyed the Leader’s thoughts and prayers to them.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has also, in a message, expressed condolences on his demise and termed him a national hero.

Undoubtedly, the story of Ali Larni showed that “age” is not a determining factor for becoming a national hero.